Applicants

Field of Study

Selection of a Major Field of Study determines the application deadline, the broad disciplinary expertise of the reviewers who will review the application, and the discipline of the graduate program if the Fellowship is accepted. The subfield category designates specific expertise of the reviewers. Applicants can select “Other” if their specific subfield is not represented in the list of subfields under the Major Field of Study. The “Other” subfield category should be selected only if the proposed subfield is not covered by one of the listed subfields, and should not be used to designate a subfield that is more specific than the subfields listed. If the proposed subfield is not listed in the Appendix, it may not be eligible for Fellowship support.

Applicants are advised to select the Major Field of Study and Subfield in the GRFP Application Module (see Fields of Study in the Appendix of the Program Solicitation) that is most closely aligned with the proposed graduate program of study and research plan. The “Other” subfield category should be selected only if the proposed subfield is not covered by one of the listed subfields, and should not be used to designate a subfield that is more specific than the subfields listed. If the proposed subfield is not listed in the Appendix, it may not be eligible for Fellowship support.

Fellows must enroll in a graduate degree program consistent with the Major Field of Study proposed in their application in the first year of the Fellowship.

NSF welcomes applications for interdisciplinary programs of study and research; however, data on interdisciplinary study is collected for informational purposes only. Interdisciplinary research is defined as “a mode of research by teams or individuals that integrates information, data, techniques, tools, perspectives, concepts, and/or theories from two or more disciplines or bodies of specialized knowledge to advance fundamental understanding or to solve problems whose solutions are beyond the scope of a single discipline or area of research practice” (Committee on Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research, Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy, 2004. Facilitating interdisciplinary research. National Academies. Washington: National Academy Press, p. 2).

Applications must be received by the deadline for the first Major Field of Study designated in the application.

Applications will be reviewed by experts in the first Major Field of Study listed.

The “Other” subfield category should be selected only if the proposed subfield is not covered by one of the listed subfields, and should not be used to designate a subfield that is more specific than the subfields listed. If the proposed subfield is not listed in the Appendix, it may not be eligible for Fellowship support.

You can select your Major Field in the Proposed Field of Study section of the GRFP application.

The list of Major Fields of Study for the GRFP are available in the solicitation.